Pole-type sanders of the type used for sanding joints in wallboard or dry wall plaster or the like are well known in the art. Such sanders, by way of example, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,483,662; 2,711,059; 3,123,946 and 2,523,884, and are commercially available from such companies as Hyde Tools, such as its model No. 45390 pole sander. In addition, pole-type sanders have also been employed in connection with floor sanders such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,501,192. These prior art pole-type sanders have all employed some type of universal joint in order to permit the flat sandpaper surface, which is generally secured to a flat backing surface, to parallel the wall or ceiling or floor surface against which the sandpaper is applied during the sanding operation. In utilizing these pole-type sanders, the user is generally a considerable distance away from this surface at the other end of the pole or broom handle through which the pressure is applied to the sandpaper surface against the surface or joint being sanded. These prior art pole-type sanders although satisfactory in many instances, have several undesirable features which affect their function. Thus, although it is well known that optimum pressure can be applied against the surface being sanded if the handle or pole can be as low or horizontal as possible in reaching for corners, the structure of the universal joint in conjunction with the sandpaper retention means has prevented this, acting as an impediment rather than an aid in achieving this objective. In addition, the prior art universal joints employed do not generally employ positive friction so that sure control of movement of the sanding surface is lost. Moreover, these prior art pole-type sanders are generally costly to manufacture, employing several components, such as by way of example, fourteen separate components in the aforementioned Hyde Tools pole sander, and require a relatively long time of assembly during the manufacturing process. In addition, although the use of wire clips to retain sandpaper on a sanding block is well known in connection with hand type sanders, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 734,954; 1,415,171 and 2,201,645, they have not generally been employed in the same manner. The previous art hand sanders retained the sandpaper by the friction of the wire clip against the abrasive surface of the sandpaper, thereby providing a not too secure clamping arrangement. These disadvantages of the prior art have been overcome by the present invention which employs, among other things, peripheral contoured guide ramps adjacent to substantially orthogonally disposed slots for a universally movable handle which permit planar disposal of the handle, and a locking spring action clip which provides positive locking and unlocking arrangement to retain sandpaper. This provides the lowest possible profile so that an extremely acute universal joint angle may be obtained when needed. This angle is considerably lower than any others now on the market.